Yokohama F.Marinos, a club from Japan, reached the semi-final round for the first time in history after winning Shandong Taishan, a club from China, scored 1-0 in the AFC Champions League 2023/24 quarter-final East Zone at Yokohama International Stadium, Yokohama.
In the first match, Yokohama F.Marinos was the side to win 2-1 at Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan last Wednesday.
Yokohama FM increased their possession rate from the beginning and had their first decisive chance in the 6th minute. After carefully connecting passes from the back, Élber started on the left side and connected with Ken Matsubara and Kota Watanabe. Jan Matthäus, who received the ball on the right side of the box, delivered a soft cross.
Asahi Uenaka from the far side took a free shot, but his header hit the goalkeeper. They continued to strengthen their offensive, and in the 18th minute, Élber connected with Jan Matthäus’ cross from the left with his head, and finally Anderson López connected with a volley, but his deflected shot was denied by a good save from the goalkeeper.
After that, Yokohama FM continued to maintain possession of the ball, while Shandong Taizan increased their chances of getting close to the goal. In the 26th minute, Valeri Kazaishvili fired a shot from the right side of the box, but goalkeeper Pope William caught it.
In the 32nd minute, Liu Yang fired a header from a right corner corner, but it went over the frame and was conceded. As the competition continued, Yokohama FM started off with a cross from Jan Matthäus in the 40th minute, and Élber and Watanabe fired successive shots, but they were unable to find the target.
In the 47th minute of the second half, which ended scoreless, Katsuya Nagato stepped on an opponent player with the sole of his foot, was shown his second yellow card of the match, and was sent off.
Yokohama FM was forced to fight at a numerical disadvantage. After that, A. Lopez brought his individual skills to the finish twice, but was unable to finish. Shandong Taishan gradually increased the pressure and created a close scene with Krisan in the front row, but William Popp and others showed a concentrated response and did not score.
Yokohama FM continued to play patiently until the 75th minute when Ryo Miyaichi, who created a starting point deep on the right side of the opponent’s side, connected to the right side of the box, and Riku Yamane, who came in for support, crossed the opposing defender and delivered a short cross.
A. Lopez, who was waiting, hit a powerful volley with his left foot and succeeded in taking the lead. After the 80th minute, Miyaichi got through with a feed from the back and collided with an opposing defender in front of the box, causing him to fall. As a result of VAR, a red card was shown to Shandong Taisan’s Go Jun-yi for blocking a decisive chance.
In added time in the second half, with the score tied 10 to 10, Yokohama FM had a chance to score against Shandong Taizan, but Eduardo’s tenacious response and goalkeeper Pope William’s bold dash were successful, and the shot went over the target. The match ended 1-0, and Yokohama F.Marinos advanced to the top four with a total score of 3-1.
Credit Photo : AFC
